Straight line flow paper trimming method and apparatus



F. C. JALLO March 8, 1966 STRAIGHT LINE FLOW PAPER TRIMMING METHOD AND APPARATUS Filed May 15, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I ,nHIm... l

INVENTOR. F1070 C. JALLO i BY .77? W March 8, 1966 F. c. JALLO 3,238,824

STRAIGHT LINE FLOW PAPER TRIMMING METHOD AND APPARATUS Filed May 15, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. FIOYD c. A

9 WQiL-WJZZW ATTORNEYS F. C. .JALLO March 8, 1966 STRAIGHT LINE FLOW PAPER TRIMMING METHOD AND APPARATUS Filed May 13, 1965' 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 R0 mu mm ma m m F 'IIII IIIIIVIIII ,4 TTOFIYE V5 United States Patent 3,238,824 STRAIGHT LINE FLOW PAPER TRIMMING METHOD AND APPARATUS Floyd C. Jallo, Everett, Wash. (2729 Garfield St., Longview, Wash.) Filed May 13, 1965, Ser. No. 458,827 40 Claims. ((11. 83-23) This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending and now abandoned application 265,632, entitled Straight Line Flow Paper Trimming Method and Apparatus, and filed March 18, 1963.

This invention relates to paper trimming mechanism and paper handling techniques, and more particularly relates to the provision of a so-called side rail or gage for use in conjunction with a paper trimmer which is movable to permit a straight line feed of paper onto and off of the sides of a trimmer table. Other aspects of the invention relate to the control circuitry for selectively and automatically manipulating the side rail and controlling the related infeed and outfeed conveying means in proper sequence.

As known in the art of trimming paper in a paper mill, or the like, a package or lift of paper is a stack of paper sheets about seven inches high, more or less, weighing several hundred pounds, which is trimmed to desired size as a unit.

The flow of paper packages through a conventional paper trimmer involves the sequential delivery of untrimmed packages onto one side of the trimmer table and after each package is trimmed the removal of such package from the front of the trimmer table and then the manual movement and partial carrying of the trimmed package to an out feed conveyor or some other receiving station. The reason for this relatively slow and inefiicient manual operation is that paper trimmers conventionally employ one or two fixed side gages.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a simplified method and apparatus for greatly increasing the speed, efficiency and economy of the removal of trimmed packages of paper from the trimming table of a paper trimmer, the basic component of such apparatus being an accurately positioned power operated, movable side rail, permitting a trimmed paper package to be pushed out of one side of the trimmer by the next package to be trimmed.

The movable side rail of the present invention is constructed to permit its easy installation as a modification to existing trimmers now in use in paper mills, paper distribution centers where retrimming is carried on, and in specialty plants such as lithographing and converting plants, for example. Of course, the movable side rail and associated equipment characteristic of the present invention can also be employed in conjunction with new paper trimmers.

An especially important aspect of the present invention, and a feature essential to the practical operation and commercial acceptability of the movable side rail, is the provision of mechanism for repositioning the gage surface of the side rail to precisely the same gage position after each lowering of the side rail, i.e. with the gage surface located exactly at right angles to the paper trimmer knife blade, to the gage surface of the paper trimmer back gage, and to the paper supporting surface of the trimmer table. The mechanism performing this function advantageously includes one or more elongated vertically extending bushings structurally integrated to the ends of the movable side rail and a pair of spaced, vertically oriented shafts mounted at their respective ends on the frame supporting the trimmer table, with said bushings mounting said lowerable side rail for up and down move- 3,238,824 Patented Mar. 8, 1966 ment along said shafts. Such mechanism also includes adjustable mounting means for the respective ends of said vertically extending shafts, the adjustment feature permitting changes in the alignment of said vertically extending shafts and in that manner adjusting the angles which the gage surface of the lowerable side rail makes with the paper supporting surface, with the knife, and with the gage surface of the back gage, which adjustment is preferably performed as a last step of the assembly of such mechanism. The adjustable mounting means is characterized by an annular mounting member rigidly fastened to the frame of said member, with its central opening disposed in concentric surrounding relation to the shaft, and by a plurality of radially extending set screws threading into a like number of circumferentially spaced openings in said mounting member. Adjustment of alignment is effected by threading out one of the set screws while at the same time threading in the opposing set screw.

A further feature of the present invention comprises mechanism for synchronizing the extent of travel of the respective ends of said movable side rail as it is raised and lowered, such means for synchronizing end travel being characterized by a pair of rack bars arranged to depend vertically from the respective ends of said lowerable side rail, a laterally disposed shaft mounted for free rotation on a subjacent portion of the trimmer table frame, and a pair of pinion wheels fixed to the end portions of said shaft and engaging the teeth of said rack bars. By this arrangement, one end of the movable side rail is prevented from moving at a faster rate than the opposite end by virtue of its being mechanically linked to said opposite end through the rack bars, pinion wheels and shaft. Such means for synchronizing end travel of the lowerable side rail prevents binding at the bushings during upward and downward movement thereof.

Other objects, features, characteristics and advantages presented by the present invention include a method of handling and trimming a succession of paper packages with a trimmer having a knife disposed substantially parallel to a straight line path of travel, and a side gage in the path of travel of paper packages through the trimmer, said method comprising the steps of: conveying a package of untrimmed paper along said straight line path of travel onto one side of the trimmer, trimming such package using a back gage with such knife to obtain parallel cuts and the side gage with said knife for obtaining right angle cuts; moving the side gage out of said straight line path of travel at the conclusion of the trimming operation; conveying another package of untrimmed paper along said straight line path of travel to move the package onto the trimmer and against the trimmed package so as to move a side of said trimmed package off the paper trimmer, past the retracted side gage, and onto an outfeed conveyor means; and then driving said outfeed conveyor means to move said trimmed package completely off the paper trimmer in said straight line path of travel.

A still further feature of the present invention is the provision of outfeed conveyor means positioned immediately outboard of said movable side rail and taking the form of one or more power driven rolls, the drive mechanism of which preferably includes overriding clutch means constructed to allow free rotation of said rolls in the outfeed direction when the power is off, but permitting such rolls to be positively driven in the same direction when the power is on. Control means associated with the drive means of said power driven rolls is adapted to energize said drive means only after the package of trimmed paper has reached a predetermined position relative to said rolls. This arrangement permits free rotation of at least one of said rolls while the trimmed package of paper is being pushed in straight line movement over it by a package of untrimmed paper. When the package of untrimmed paper has pushed the leading edge of the trimmed package onto the associated outfeed conveyor means, such condition is sensed by the control means and the motor driving said power driven rolls is turned on, after which said power driven rolls move said trimmed package completely off of the trimmer.

Other objects and features of the present invention are found in the control circuitry and its manner of operation, and more particularly in the automatic sequencing and operational switch means rendering the infeed conveyor means operable safeguards thereby afforded; such as the provision of limit switch means rendering the infeed conveyor means operable only when the paper trimmer back gage is in its rearmost position (i.e. out of the path of travel of the oncoming paper package); such as the provision of limit switch means automatically lowering the side rail whenever the back gage is in its rearmost position; such as the provision of manually actuatable means, independent of back gage position, for lowering of the side rail a predetermined time to facilitate rotative manipulation by the operator of the paper package on the trimmer table during the trimming operation; such as safety interlock means preventing energization of the back gage drive motor whenever the infeed motor is in an energized condition; such as the provision of an infeed sensing unit operating to automatically maintain the infeed conveyance of the oncoming paper package until the package is in place on the trimmer table; such as the provision of an outfeed sensing unit for energizing outfeed conveyor means after initial straight line off-movement of the trimmed package from the trimmer table and for maintaining such energization until the trimmed package is clear of the trimmer table; and such as the provision of interlock means disabling the back gage motor energization circuit whenever the outfeed motor circuit is energized by said outfeed sensing unit.

These and other objects, features, characteristics and advantages pertaining to and inherent in the present invention will be apparent from the following description of certain typical and therefore non-limitive embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like letter designations and numerals refer to like parts and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conventional trimmer arrangement wherein paper flow is into one side of the trimmer and out of the front, the side rail in this arrangement being fixed;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the straight line fiow trimmer arrangement of the present invention, the trimmer including a movable side rail typifying construction in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a view part in elevation and part in section, the section being taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the paper trimming mechanism of the present invention, such view being taken in the vicinity of the outfeed side of the trimmer and showing the trimmer table and a power driven roll in broken line, and showing the movable side rail, its support structure and the end movement synchronizing means in solid line;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 55 of FIG. 4, such figure presenting a plan view of the end movement synchronizing means;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of one of the upper adjustable mounting means for the vertically extending shafts;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 88 of FIG. 7 and also the details of a bushing;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially parallel to the plane of the gage surface of the back gage, such view showing the back gage approximately in its rearmost position, and also showing the physical location of the several limit switches forming parts of the control circuitry, together with the cam affixed to the back gage for actuating said limit switches;

FIG. 9A is a fragmentary view similar to a portion of the view of FIG. 9 and showing the position of an additional limit switch employed as a part of a modified form of the control circuitry;

FIG. 10 is a ladder diagram of an appropriate electrical control used where the outfeed conveying means involves freely overrunning power driven rolls; and

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary ladder diagram of a modified form of electrical control circuitry for use with a fixed drive type outfeed conveying means.

For purposes of ready comparison, FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional trimming arrangement wherein paper flow through the trimming area involves two successive right angle turns of the paper packages of lifts. In such an arrangement an untrimmed package of paper P10 (measuring approximately 61 /2" x 61 /2" x '7", for example) is delivered to a trimmer table P12 by means of a suitable conveyor P14, to be trimmed to desired size (such as to measure 60 x 60", for example). A guillotine trimming knife P16 of the type commonly in use in the paper finishing industry (such as the Seybold Saber Models Nos. M and M1000, manufactured by Harris-Seybold Company) extends along the front end of trimmer table P12 in front of the operator. Trimmer table P12 is also equipped with a standard movable back gage P18 and a standard fixed side gage P20, the back gage P18 having a gage surface arranged parallel to the knife blade P22 and cooperating with said knife blade P22 to produce parallel cuts, and the side gage P20 having a gage surface disposed at right angle cuts. Knife blade P22 is adapted for up and down movement in a vertical plane and has a cutting edge which sloped slightly from one end to the other. This is so that knife blade P22 in effect slices across the package of paper as such knife blade P22 is power driven downwardly, making possible the cutting of a relatively large number of sheets of paper at one time, a typical height of a package being 7", as previously indicated.

After an untrimmed package of lift P10 is deposited onto trimmer table P12 by the conveyor P14, the operator reaches under the knife blade P22, then in its up position, grabs the closest two corners of the untrimmed package P10, and then pulls the package P10 toward him with the help of back gage P18 and positions the front edge thereof beneath blade P22. The operator next depresses knife blade P22, causing said front edge to be trimmed. The operator next revolves package P10 pushes the trimmed edge thereof flush against the gage surface of side gage P20, and then with the help of back gage P18 moves package P10 toward him to place the untrimmed edge facing him in cutting position below knife blade P22. The knife blade P22 is then lowered and the package edge trimmed in the same manner as before. In making the third cut, one of the trimmed edges of package PlO is placed flush against the gage surface of back gage P18 so that the third edge is trimmed to be parallel to said trimmed edge abuttting the gage surface of back gage P18. When making the fourth and final cut, both the back gage P1 8 and the side gage P20 are used, resulting in the trimmed package having four trimmed edges each intersecting the adjacent edges at right angles. The final step of the trimming operation involves the operator again reaching under knife blade P22, grabbing two corners of the trimmed package P10, pulling such package P10 toward him, and then walking it with the rear portion thereof supported on a table extension P24 over to a suitable outfeed conveyor P26. Table extension P24 is preferably hinged along its side P28 so that such extension P24 can be swung downwardly, out of the way of the operator when it is not being used.

Referring now to FIGS. 2-11, illustrating equipment arrangements according to the present invention, the retractable side rail feature of the present invention permits a straight line flow of paper packages through the trimmer area, eliminating the need for a table extension such as extension P24 described above, and also eliminating the need of the operator lifting and walking the trimmed packages from the trimmer table to the outfeed conveyor. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an untrimmed package is conveyed onto the trimmer table 12 by means of a suitable infeed conveyor 14, an overhead paddle type conveyor being preferred and being illustrated by way of example. Knife 16 and back gage 18 are identical in construction and operation with knife P16 and back gage P18 in the arrangement of FIG. 1, but at least the major portion of the side gage or socalled side rail (the portion spanning the straight pathof-feed of the paper packages onto and off of the trimmer table) is adapted for movement out of said straight path-of-feed to permit offbearing of trimmed paper in a straight line flow relation with the infeed of untrimmed paper. The cutting operation is identical to that described in connection with the arrangement of FIG. 1, i.e. back gage 18 is used in conjunction with knife blade 22 to obtain parallel cuts and the side gage including the movable side rail 20 is used with said knife blade 22 for obtaining right angle cuts. The trimming operation, the operation of the movable portion of the side gage and the offbearing operation are hereinafter described in detail in connection with the discussion of the control circuitry shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

Concerning the infeed of untrimmed packages of paper onto trimmer table 12, infeed conveyor 14 comprises a pair of endless conveyor chains 24 driven by chain wheels 26, 28 in the direction indicated by arrow 30. Chain wheels or sprockets 26, 28 are fixed to a drive shaft 32 which is in turn suitably mounted for rotation by end hearings, or the like. An infeed motor 1M, preferably mounted above conveyor 14, is drivingly connected to drive shaft 32 which is in turn suitably mounted for rotation by end bearings, or the like. The infeed motor IM, preferably mounted above conveyor 14, is drivingly connected to drive shaft 32 by suitable gear reduction means 36, or the like. A second pair of chain wheels or sprockets, and a second drive shaft (not shown) are similarly provided at the opposite end of infeed conveyor 14. The untrimmed packages, or lifts of paper 10 are supported on top of the infeed conveyor table 38, which is preferably of the so-called air film type and such packages 10 are moved along said table 38 by means of paddles 40 depending vertically from said chains 24. The position of chain wheels 26, 28 is so chosen that each paddle wheel 44) deposits its package 10 wholly upon trimmer table 12 before such paddle 40 loses contact with its package of paper 10 and begins the return trip to the other end of conveyor 14. In this respect, the chain wheels 26, 28 are positioned relative to table 12 so that the lifting of each paddle 40 by the chain wheels 26, 28 begins substantially at an imaginary plane extending vertically upwardly from the edge 42 of the infeed side portion of the trimmer table 12, i.e. the paddles 40 last occupy a vertical position substantially at table edge 42. An infeed sensing with ISU (to be described in connection with FIGS. -10 and 11) is positioned to direct its control beam lengthwise of the infeed side of trimmer table 12 substantially at table edge 42.

As best shown in FIG. 3, a guide portion 44 of back gage 18 extends through an elongated guide slot 46 extending lengthwise to trimmer table 12 and below trimmer table 12 connects to a base member 48 which is slightly wider than guide slot 46. Base member 48 carries a threaded opening through which an elongated drive screw 50 extends. Drive screw 50 is rotated by means of an electric, reversible back gage motor GM, with rotation of screw 56 causing member 48 to move axially along said screw 50 carrying with it back gage 18. Rotation of drive screw 50 in one direction moves back gage 18 towards the operator and rotation in the opposite direction moves the back gage 18 away from the operator. Guide portion 44 is constructed to snugly fit between the side surfaces of guide slot 46 and is of sufficient length to insure the proper allignment of gage surface 52 with knife blade 22. Of course, the arrangement of guide portion 44, guides 46, base member 48, drive screw 50 and reversible gage motor GM is merely illustrative of one of several typical ways of satisfactory mounting and driving the back gage 18, it being understood that the mounting and movement of back gage 18 could be performed by mechanisms different from those shown and described.

The movable portion of the side gage, in the illustrated embodiment of the invention is a lowerable side rail 20 and is positioned contiguous to the outfeed side 54 of trimmer table 12, and as previously mentioned forms the major part of the side gage. In the arrangement show, a fixed (non-movable) front portion 54 forms the minor portion of said side gage. T-he inwardly directed faces of movable side rail 20 and front portion 54 together constitute a single gage surface 56 arranged at right angles to the plane of the paper sorting surface (constituting the top of table 12), to gage surface 52 of back gage 18, and to knife blade 22. In some installations characteristic of the invention the movable side rail 20 can of course extend the full length of the outfeed side of table 12, as in new equipment installations, for example.

The mechanisms enabling movement of side rail 20 is best shown in FIG. 4 and includes a pair of vertically arranged bushings 58, 60, preferably of the ball bushing type, located at each end of side rail 20. Each pair of =bushings 58, 6th mounts one end of side rail 20 for movement along a vertically extending shaft 62. Each such shaft 62 is restrained at its respective ends by an annular mounting member 64, and the mounting members 64 are in turn rigidly connected to respective ends of a pair of vertically extending standards 66, 68. As most clearly shown in connection with standard 66 in FIG. 4, the standards 66, 68 are rigidly connected to spaced apart portions of the trimmer frame 12 by means of bolts 70, 72, or the like. The central opening 74 of each annular mounting member 64 is disclosed in concentric surrounding relationship to one end of a shaft 62, and a plurality of radially extending set screws 76 thread into a like number of circumferentially spaced openings 78 provided in said annular mounting member 64. Set screws 76 serve to restrain the ends of shafts 62 against lateral movement. The set screws '76 also provide a means of adjusting the alignment of said shafts for in turn adjusting the angles which the gage surface of the lowerable side rail 20 makes with the paper supporting surface of trimmer table 12 and with knife blade 22. FIG. 7 shows a shaft 62 in two different positions, the first position being shown by solid lines and the second position being shown by broken lines. Movement of shaft 62 from its solid line position to its broken line position is effected by unscrewing set screw 76" while at the same time screwing in set screw 76'. Adjustment can also be made in the direction of set screws 76", 76"", if such is found to be necessary.

As most clearly shown in FIG. 8, bushings 58 are of the ball bushing type and include a cylindrical casing 80 which together with shft 62 defines an annular ball receiving chamber 82. Ball receiving chamber 82 is completely filled with steel balls 84 and retaining rings 86, 88 are provided at the respective top and bottom ends thereof. Shafts 62 are preferably constructed from a hard tool steel of a type offering much resistance to lateral defiection in the span portions of such shafts. This feature, together with the elongated construction of bushings 58, 60, the relatively large spacing between said bushings 58, 60 and the solid anchoring of standards 66, 68 to the trimmer table 12 afford more than adequate lateral stability for side rail 20 to assure the return of the gage surface thereof to its proper gaging position after each lowering of said rail 20.

FIG. 8 also contains a clear showing of a vertically disposed set screw 90 which is located on top of each standard 66, 68 to function as adjustable stop means limiting the upward travel of said movable side rail 20.

Movable side rail 20 is suitably raised and lowered by powered actuating means such as hydraulic motor 92, for example, also termable a single-acting hydraulic cylinder, the piston of which is connected to one end of a pusher rod 94 which connects at its other end to a mid-portion of side rail 20. The operation of hydraulic motor 92 will be hereinafter described in some detail in connection with the discussion of the control circuitry shown in FIG. 10.

To prevent binding'at the bushings 58, 60 during upward and downward travel of side rail 20, means are provided for synchronizing the extent of end travel of said side rail 20 as it is raised and lowered. Such synchronizing means suitably comprises a pair of rack bars 96 depending substantially vertically from the respective ends of said rail 20, a horizontally arranged freely rotating shaft 98, and a pin of pinion gears 100 rigidly connected to said shaft 98 and meshing with the teeth of said rack bars 96. If during movement of said rail 20 one end thereof tends to move faster than the other end, it is prevented from doing so by virtue of its being mechanically tied to such other end through racks 96, pinion gears 100 and shaft 98. Shaft 98 is mounted for free rotation in end bearings 102, 104 (FIG. bearing 104 being adjustable to facilitate installation of shaft 98.

One or more power driven rolls, two being shown by way of example, are situated outboard of side rail 20 to aid in the removal of the trimmed packages from the trimmer table 12. Power driven rolls 106, 108 are preferably knurled or rubber coated to present a surface having a high coefficient of friction. Overriding clutch means 110, 112 (FIG. 2), of conventional design per se, comprise parts of the drive mechanism connecting power driven rolls 106, 108 with an outfeed motor OM (FIG. 3). Clutches 110, 112 are constructed to allow free rotation of power driven rolls 106, 108 in the outfeed direction when outfeed motor OM is off, and to engage and drive said power driven rolls 106, 108 in the same direction when outfeed motor OM is energized. The reason for this feature is to permit the leading edge of the trimmed package to move freely over the outfeed conveyor roll 106 prior to energization of the outfeed motor OM by the outfeed sensing unit OSU, as more fully discussed below in connection with FIG. Power driven rolls 106, 108 constitute a portion of means for receiving paper from the trimming area, as does stacker table 114. The outfeed sensing unit OSU is situated adjacent to power driven roll 106 (FIG. 3) and is positioned to direct its control beam laterally across table 114, as shown in FIG. 2.

In some installations it may be desirable to use other or additional outfeed conveyor means. Thus, another type of conveyor means similar to infeed conveyor 14 can be positioned downstream of the power rolls 106, 108, replacing or supplementing one of the power driven rolls 106, 108, and conveying the trimmed packages to a stacking and wrapping station, for example, which stacking and wrapping station can be located a considerable distance from the trimming area. Alternatively, as an additional example in this regard, an air film table can be employed between the last power driven roll 108 and a stacking and wrapping station to facilitate the manual transfer of trimmed packages from the trimming table to a stacking and wrapping station or other subsequent handling operation.

FIGS. 9 and 9A show back gage 18 approximately in its rearmost position and furthermore show the physical location of the several limit switches forming part of the control circuitry hereinafter to be described, together with a limit switch actuating cam 116 fixed to the top portion of back gage 18.

An illustrative operating sequence of my trimmer mechanism is next discussed, with particular reference to FIG. 10, wherein is presented a somewhat simplified schematic of a typical electrical control circuit therefor. In FIG. 10, the various electrical components for effecting control of the mechanism are shown in the operating condition occurring with power applied from lines L1 and L2 through suitable fuses F and start-stop switching (denoted SSS), with the back gage 18 in its rearmost position (closing normally open limit switches ILS and SRLS), and with the oncoming package of paper next to be trimmed in the approach position on the infeed conveyor table 12 shown at FIG. 2. Also, at this time in the operating sequence of the machine, the trimmed package of paper on the trimming table 12 has been pushed back in line with the line of feed of the oncoming package 10. It is to be further noted that, at this time, the closure of the side rail limit switch SRLS has energized the side rail relay SRR which has in turn thrown the side rail valve SRV to permit exhaust of the control fluid from side rail hoist motor 92, rendering the side rail 20 in its down position so that the line of feed is clear for the trimmed package to be moved off the trimmer table 12 when the incoming package is conveyed onto the trimmer table 12.

To initiate package transfer the operator manually closes infeed manual switch IMS, which causes energization of infeed motor relay IMR through the aforesaid infeed limit switch ILS and normally closed infeed manual interrupt switch IMIS. Said manual switch IMIS is available to the operator for actuation only in the event there is some emergency or other reason to interrupt the drive of the infeed conveyor 14 other than in normal sequence. Energization of infeed motor relay IMR in turn causes energization of infeed motor IM through closure of its normally open contact IMRl. Relay IMR is preferably also provided with normally closed contacts IMR2 and IMR3 in the respective energization circuits for the forward drive and rearward drive of back gage motor GM, as shown in FIG. 10, to effect a safety interlock preventing movement of the back gage 18 while an incoming package 10 of paper is being fed onto the trimmer table 12. Said interlock contacts IMR2 and IMR3, along with the normally open infeed limit switch ILS ensure that the back gage 18 is in its rearmost position and cannot be moved while the infeed conveyor 14 is operating.

Once the incoming paper package 10 has been moved forwardly an amount sufiicient to break the light beam of the infeed sensing unit ISU (FIGS. 2 and 3), contact ISU1 of the infeed sensing unit is closed and maintains energization of the infeed motor relay IMR until the incoming package 10 is moved onto the trimming table 12 sufirciently for the ISU light beam to be restored, the contact ISU1 thereupon opening to de-energize relay IMR and infeed motor IM, with the interlock contacts IMR2 and IMR3 again returning to their closed position.

Contemporaneously with the conveyance of the incoming package onto the trimmer table 12, the trimmed package is pushed off the trimmer table 12 ahead of the incoming package and in straight path-of-feed therewith. In its progress off the trimmer table 12, the leading edge of the trimmed package breaks the beam of outfeed sensing unit OSU (FIGS. 2 and 3), causing closure of its contact OSUl energizes the outfeed motor relay OMR. The normally closed contact OSU2 is in the energization circuit of the back gage motor relays GMFR and GMRR and functions as interlock means disabling the back gage motor energization circuit whenever the outfeed motor circuit is energized by the outfeed sensing unit OSU.

Energization of outfeed motor relay OMR causes closure of contact OMR1 thereof in the energization circuit for outfeed motor OM. In the normal conveyance sequence, outfeed motor OM is thus energized and drives outfeed rollers 106, 108 as long as the beam of the outfeed sensing unit OSU is broken.

Conveyance of the trimmed package onto the stacker table 114 thus continues until the trimmed package is entirely clear of the trimmer table. When the beam of outfeed sensing unit OSU is again restored by movement of the trimmed package past it, contact OSUl opens and relay OMR is de-energized, opening the energization circuit for the outfeed motor OM. Contact OSU2 is also reclosed, restoring the energization circuit for back gage motor GM.

With the oncoming untrimmed package thus fed into position on the trimmer table and with the energization sequences of the infeed motor IM and outfeed motor OM stopped, the operator then proceeds to appropriately .position the untrimmed package for the first cut thereof, the control sequence involving manual movement of back gage manual switch GMS to the forward position (F), which results in energization of back gage motor forward relay GMFR, the circuit for such energization also including normally closed hack gage forward limit switch GFLS. Energization of the relay GMFR thus drives the back gage motor GM in the direction to move the back gage 18 forwardly to the desired distance appropriate to place the untrimmed package under the knife at proper location for the first cut. In the manner customary with conventional trimmer operation per se, the successive cuts are made on each package when the package is on the trimmer table, by selective forward or rearward movement of the back gage. As shown in FIG. 10, the rearward drive for the back gage motor energization circuit includes energization of the motor through the rearward (R) contact of manual switch GMS, through the normally closed limit switch GRLS (which is closed except when the back gage is in rearmost position), through interlock contact IMR3, to energize the back gage motor rear drive relay GMRR and close its normally open contact GMRRl.

One of the salient advantages of the trimmer table arrangement characteristic of the invention is that the side rail 20 is selectively movable so as to not impede the rotative manipulation of the package on the trimmer table in the progressive edge cuts of the package. In conventional trimmer tables involving a fixed side rail, paper packages having a diagonal dimension greater than the width of the trimmer table (85 inches or 100 inches in two trimmer models in common use, for example), present a difficult handling problem when the operator must not only rotate the package but also move it laterally away from a fixed side rail far enough to permit rotation. With the movable side rail 20, in the event the side rail in its raised or blocking position would impede rotation of the package during trimming, the side rail 20 can be selectively and briefly moved out of the way by the operator, then manually or automatically restored to raised position so as to perform its package positioning function during subsequent trimming. For this purpose, side rail manual relay SRM is provided to effect alternative lowering of the side rail 20. Manual actuation of switch RLS energizes said relay SRM and closure of contact SRMI thereof causes energization of said rail relay SRR even when the back gage is forward of its rearmost position (i.e. with limit switch SRLS open), with consequent lowering of the side rail 20. The circuitry associated with relay SRM also includes an interlock contact SRM2 in series with a normally open, delayed reopen type time delay unit DU and a normally closed manual side rail reset switch RRS. As will be understood, delay unit DU can be of any suitable and commercially available type, and is conventional per se. At such time as the operator has rotated the partially trimmed package to desired position with the side rail 20 down, he can either manually raise or reset the side rail by manually engaging switch RRS, or the delayed unit DU will automatically open the interlock circuit for relay SRM so that the side rail 20 reraises after a pre- Ml determined time even if the operator does not engage the reset switch RRS.

With all sides of the package on the trimmer table trimmed, the operator then moves the :back gage 18 to its rearmost position by means of switch GMS and pushes the trimmed package into alignment with the path-of-feed of the oncoming package. At this point, the operator can then selectively initiate another cycle of operation by closure of manual switch IMS and repeat the sequence.

The circuitry shown by FIG. 10 is illustrative of appropriate electrical control where the outfeed conveying means involves freely overrunning rolls 106, 108 as earlier discussed, or the like. In certain installations, wherein the mechanism of the present invention is adapted to utilization of outfeed conveying means involving nonoverrunning elements, the control circuity presented by FIG. 10 can readily be appropriately modified.

An example of such modification for use with a fixed drive type outfeed conveying means is presented by the fragmentary ladder diagram shown at FIG. 11. As will be readily understood, the electrical control circuit for the trimmer mechanism is in such event the same as shown in FIG. 10, except for the control components for the outfeed motor OM.

As shown in FIGS. 9A and 11, a second side rail limit switch, designated ZSRLS, is introduced to the outfeed motor OM control circuit. This limit switch 2SRLS is physically situated next to limit switch SRLS (FIG. 9A) so as to be closed on the occasion of the back gage 1-8 being in its rearmost position. As in the case of FIG. 10, the condition of the control components illustrated in FIG. 11 is with the back gage 18 in its rearmost position, so that the normally open limit switch ZSRLS is shown closed. When closed, said limit switch ZSRLS energizes an outfeed start relay OSR, in turn closing normally open contacts OSR1 and OSRZ. A reset timer, so designated in FIG. 11, is also employed in this modified control circuit, comprising a reset timer relay RCTR, a one-set interlock contact RTRl, and a normally open control contact RTRZ. Said reset timer is suitably of the type marketed under the proprietary designation Eagle Controlfiex 'by Eagle Signal Corp., Moline, 111., having a characteristic manner of operation involving a delayed opening of the contacts RTRl and RTRZ after initial energization, with the contacts remaining open until the clutch C thereof is deactuated and reactuated by de-energization and re-energization of its relay RTR.

Upon energization of the reset timer relay RTR as a result of energization of outfeed start relay OSR when limit switch ZSRLS is closed by movement of the back gage '18 to its rearmost position, contact RTRZ is closed, completing the energization circuit for out-feed motor relay OMR through a normally closed contact OSU of outfeed sensing unit OSU. As in FIG. 10, energization of the outfeed motor relay OMR closes its contact OMRI in the energization circuit for the outfeed motor, so that the drive of the outfeed conveying means is initiated instanteously with the movement of the back gage 18 to its rearmost position even though the beam of the outfeed sensing unit OSU is at this instant not yet broken by the trimmed paper package moving off the trimmer table. As the trimmed package is pushed off the trimmer table by the incoming untrimmed package, the beam of the outfeed sensing unit OSU is broken, which results in the opening of contact OSU3 and the closing of contact OSUl. Closure of contact OSU]. maintains the energization of outfeed motor relay OMR so that the energization of outfeed motor OM continues until the trimmed paper package clears the beam of outfeed sensing unit OSU, whereupon contact OSUl again opens and contact OSU3 again closes. During the transit time of the trimmed paper package past the beam of outfeed sensing unit OSU, the interlock contact RTRI and the control contact RTR2 of the reset timer have undergone a delayed self-opening sequence and one-set clutch C is disabled, with the result that the reclosure of outfeed'sensing unit contact OSU3 does not result in continued energization of the outfeed motor relay OMR. By its internal control mechanism, conventional per se, the reset timer remains disabled until its relay RTR is reset, i.e. deenergized and re-energized. In the circuit shown, this reset action is occasioned by opening and closing of contact OSRI of the outfeed start relay OSR, which is in turn occasioned by forward and rearward movement of the back gage 18 and the consequent opening and reclosing of the limit switch ZSRLS at the start of and at the conclusion of the next trimming cycle.

While the above discussed specific embodiment of the invention involves a side rail 20 which is movable by virtue of being raised and lowered with respect to the trimmer table, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the side rail can be moved to and from its blocking and retracted positions by any other appropriate structural arrangement, such as by lifting of the side rail upwardly out of the path of travel of the trimmed package, or by horizontal retraction thereof, as by making the same integral with the back gage and moving the back gage rearwardly sufficiently so that the outfeed path from the trimmed package is unobstructed. Similarly, the side rail can also be mounted to pivot about an axis extending parallel to and slightly below the outfeed side of the trimmer table, or mounted to pivot about a vertical axis laterally ofiset slightly from an out-feed corner of the trimmer table, to effect the desired movement thereof.

From the foregoing, various further equivalents, modifications and adaptations as to equipment detail, layout, control circuit arrangements, and utility will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention is addressed, within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is: 1. A method of handling and trimming a package of paper comprising:

conveying a package of untrimmed paper along a straight line path of travel onto one side of a paper trimmer having a knife disposed substantially parallel to the line of delivery, and a side gage disposed in said path of travel; trimming such package using a back gage with such knife to obtain parallel cuts and the side gage with such knife for obtaining right angle cuts;

retracting the side gage out of said path of travel at the conclusion of the trimming operation;

and then moving said trimmed package along said path of travel to convey same past the retracted side gage and completely off the trimmer.

2. A method of handling and trimming a package of paper comprising:

conveying a package of untrimmed paper along a straight line path of travel onto one side of a paper trimmer having a knife disposed substantially parallel to the line of delivery, and a side gage disposed in said path of travel;

trimming such package using a back gage with such knife to obtain parallel cuts and the side gage with said knife for obtaining right angle cuts;

retracting the side gage out of said path of travel at the conclusion of the trimming operation;

conveying another package of untrimmed paper along said path of travel onto the trimmer and against said trimmed package to move a side of said trimmed package along said path of travel and onto an outfeed conveyor means;

and then driving said outfeed conveyor means to move said trimmed package further along said path of travel and completely off of the trimmer.

3. The method of handling and trimming a paper package comprising:

conveying a package of untrimmed paper along a straight line path of travel onto one side of the paper trimmer having a knife disposed substantially parallel to said path of travel, a side gage disposed perpendicularly of said knife and in said path of travel, and a back gage disposed parallel to the knife;

trimming such package using said back gage with such knife to obtain parallel cuts and said side gage with such knife to obtain right angle cuts;

moving the back gage to its rearmost position away from such knife at the conclusion of the trimming operation;

moving said side gage out of said path of travel in response to location of the back gage in substantially its rearmost position;

and removing the trimmed package from the trimmer table by further movement thereof along said straight line path of travel.

4. The method of claim 3, comprising:

raising and lowering said side gage vertically to move same in and out of said straight line path of travel.

5. The method of handling and trimming a succession of paper packages with a trimmer having a knife disposed substantially parallel to a straight line path of travel, and a side gage in the path of travel of paper packages through the trimmer, said method comprising the steps of:

conveying a package of untrimmed paper along said straight line path of travel onto one side of the trimmer;

trimming such package using a back gage with such knife to obtain parallel cuts and the side gage with said knife for obtaining right angle cuts;

moving the side gage out of the said straight line path of travel at the conclusion of the trimming operation;

conveying another package of untrimmed paper along said straight line path of travel to move the package onto the trimmer and against said trimmed package so as to move a side of said trimmed package off the paper trimmer, past the side gage, and onto an outfeed conveyor means;

and then driving said outfeed conveyor means to move said trimmed package completely off of the paper trimmer in said straight line path of travel.

6. The method of handling and trimming individual and successive lifts of limp paper sheets in a trimmer having a trimmer table, knife, side gage and movable back gage, said method comprising the steps of:

advancing each lift across said table in a straight line path from one side thereof toward the other side thereof;

barring the advance along said path of the leading edges of said lift at the said other side of said table;

trimming the edges of said lift while the further advance thereof is so barred;

then ceasing to bar the further advance of said lift along said straight line path;

then advancing a succeeding lift along said straight line path across said table into engagement with the trailing edges of said first lift to urge the said first lift off the table;

and then barring the advance along said straight line path of the leading edges of said succeeding lift at the other side of said table.

7. In apparatus for handling and accurately trimming the edges of a package of paper sheets, said apparatus being of the type having a trimmer table with a guillotine knife along the front, a back gage, movable toward and away from the knife in parallelism therewith and a rectilinear package feed path extending from one side toward the opposite side thereof, the combination of:

a movable side guide rail extending along said opposite side, in the path of a package advancing along said path, said rail being normal to said path, table, back gage and knife, and

power actuated means, operably connected to said side guide rail, for moving the same out of said path to permit a package to continue along said feed path and off said opposite side of said trimmer table.

8. In combination, in a straight line flow relation:

infeed conveying means conveying an untrimmed package of paper along a predetermined path of travel;

a paper trimmer having a fixed, substantially planar paper supporting surface, infeed and outfeed sides, a front end, offset from said infeed conveying means, and a knife extending along said front end out of the path of travel of untrimmed packages of paper onto the paper supporting surface, said knife being mounted for movement in a vertical plane;

side gage means having a movable portion positioned contiguous at least a portion of the outfeed side of said trimmer, said side gage means having an inwardly facing gage surface in said path arranged to extend at right angles to both the plane of the supporting surface and the plane of the knife;

and means for moving said side gage movable portion out of said path to permit a trimmed package of paper to be conveyed off the outfeed side of the paper supporting surface of said trimmer.

9. A mechanism for handling and trimming a package of paper comprising:

a paper trimmer having a paper supporting surface, infeed and outfeed sides, a front end, and a knife extending along a major portion of said front end and mounted for movement within a vertical plane;

infeed conveyor means for delivering an untrimmed paper package onto the infeed side of said trimmer;

trimmed paper receiving means situated outboardly of the outfeed side of said table and defining a straight line path with said infeed conveyor means;

a movable side rail positioned contiguous the outfeed side of the table, said rail having an inwardly facing gage surface in said path extending at right angles to both the plane of the supporting surface and the plane of the knife, said side rail extending along at least a major portion of the length of the outfeed side of said table;

and means for automatically moving said side rail out of said path, such arrangement of the side rail enabling it to function as a side gage when in said path and to allow removal of trimmed paper in straight line flow relation to the delivery of untrimmed paper onto the trimmer when out of said path.

10. A paper handling and trimming mechanism comprising:

a paper trimmer having a table with a stationary, substantially planar paper supporting surface, infeed and outfeed sides, and a front end, and a knife extending along a major portion of said front end and mounted for movement within a vertical plane;

infeed conveyor means for delivering untrimmed paper onto said table from the infeed side thereof, said infeed conveyor being spaced rearwardly from said knife so that the knife is situated entirely out of the path of travel of the untrimmed paper as it comes onto the table;

trimmed paper receiving means situated outboardly of the outfeed side of said table and in line with said infeed conveyor means;

a lowerable side rail positioned contiguous the outfeed side of said table, said rail having an inwardly facing gage surface extending at right angles to both the plane of the supporting surface and the plane of the knife, said side rail extending along at least a major portion of the length of the outfeed side of said table;

and means for raising and lowering said side rail, such arrangement of the side rail enabling it to function as a side gage when in an up position and when lowered to allow removal of trimmed paper in straight line flow relation to the delivery of untrimmed paper onto the trimmer.

11. A paper handling and trimming mechanism according to claim 10, said lowerable side rail having a top edge surface constructed to form a continuation of said paper supporting surface when said side rail occupies its down position.

12. A paper handling and trimming mechanism according to claim 10, wherein the trimmed paper receiving means includes power roll means positioned immediately outboardly of said lowerable side rail.

13. Paper handling and trimming mechanism permitting straight line flow of paper through a trimmer, said mechanism comprising in combination:

a paper trimmer having a fixed paper supporting surface, infeed and outfeed sides, a front end, and a knife extending along at least a major portion of said front end and mounted for movement within a vertical plane;

infeed conveyor means arranged to deliver a package of untrimmed paper onto said fixed paper supporting surface from said infeed side;

outfeed conveyor means situated immediately outboardly of the outfeed side of said trimmer, with the lineof-feed thereof being in straight line with the line-offeed of said infeed conveyor means;

side gage means extending substantially the full length of the outfeed side of said trimmer and having inwardly facing gage surfaces extending at right angles to both the plane of the supporting surface and the plane of the knife, said side gage means having a fixed minor portion adjacent said knife and a movable major portion, said movable major portion spanning the line-of-feed of paper onto and off the trimmer;

and means for moving said side gage movable portion in and out of the line-of-feed of the paper off the trimmer.

14. Paper handling and trimming mechanism permitting straight line flow of paper through a trimmer, said mechanism comprising in combination:

a paper trimmer having a fixed paper supporting surface, infeed and outfeed sides, a front end, and a knife extending along at least a major portion of said front end and mounted for movement within a vertical plane;

infeed conveyor means arranged to deliver a package of untrimmed paper onto said fixed paper supporting surface from said infeed side;

outfeed conveyor means situated immediately outboardly of the outfeed side of said trimmer, with the lineof-feed thereof being in line with the line-of-feed of said infeed conveyor means;

side gage means extending substantially the full length of the outfeed side of said trimmer and having inwardly facing gage surfaces extending at right angles to both the plane of the supporting surface and the plane of the knife, said side gage means having a fixed minor portion adjacent said knife and a lowerable major portion, said lowerable major portion spanning the line-of-feed of paper onto and off of the trimmer;

and means for raising and lowering said lowerable portion of said side gage.

15. A paper handling and trimming mechanism according to claim 14, wherein said outfeed conveyor means includes power driven roll means situated outboardly of said lowerable portion of the side gage.

16. A paper handling and trimming mechanism according to claim 15, wherein said outfeed conveyor means comprises a first outfeed roll adjacent to said side gage lowerable portion, and a second outfeed conveyor roll arranged downstream of said first power roll.

17. In combination with a paper trimmer having a paper package supporting table and a cutting knife extending along a major portion of the front end of said supporting table, a side rail situated along a side edge of said table and at right angles to said knife and presenting an inwardly facing gage surface against which one edge of a package of paper is placed during some stages of a trimming operation, said side rail having a fixed minor portion positioned near said knife and a lowerable major portion positioned away from said knife, and means for lowering said lowerable rail portion to permit outfeed conveyance of a trimmed paper package from said table over the lowered side rail portion.

18. In combination with one side of a frame supported trimmer table for trimming a package of paper, a lowerable gage rail presenting an inwardly facing gage surface and having elongated vertically extending bushings structurally integrated to each of its ends; a pair of laterally spaced, vertically oriented fixed shafts mounted at their respective ends on the frame supporting said trimmer table, said bushings surrounding said shafts and mounting said gage rail for up and down movement along said fixed shafts; and means for raising and lowering said gage rail with respect to said table.

19. The combination of claim 18, wherein said means for moving said gage rail includes a drive element connected at its top end to an intermediate portion of said gage rail and connected at its lower end to an actuating means mounted below said gage rail, said paper trimmer further including means interconnecting the respective ends of said gage rail and causing said ends to move up and down at substantially the same rate of travel.

20. The combination of claim 19, wherein the means connecting the respective ends of the gage rail together comprises vertically extending rack means situated at each end of said gage rail, a horizontally disposed shaft mounted for free rotation on a subjacent portion of the trimmer frame, and pinion means affixed to the ends of said shaft, said pinion means meshing with said rack means.

21, In combination with a paper trimmer having a supporting surface for a package of paper, a gage rail at one side of said supporting surface presenting a vertical, inwardly facing gage surface and having vertically extending bushing means at each of its ends, a pair of spaced, vertically extending shafts structurally integrated at their respective ends with said trimmer, said bushings mounting said gage rail for travel along said shafts, means for moving said gage rail from a gage position to a retracted position flush with said paper supporting surface, and adjustment means positioned at the respective ends of said shafts for effecting changes in the alignment of said shafts and in that manner adjusting the angles which the gage surface of said gage rail makes with the paper supporting surface and the knife.

22. The combination of claim 21, wherein each of the adjustment means comprises an annular mounting member rigidly fastened to a frame portion of said trimmer, with the central opening of said member disposed in concentric surrounding relationship to the shaft, and a plurality of radially extending set screws threading into a like number of circumferentially spaced openings in said mounting member.

23. The combination of claim 22, wherein said gage rail is provided with means for synchronizing the extent of travel of its respective ends as it is raised and lowered.

24. In combination, in a straight line flow relation:

infeed conveying means conveying an untrimmed package of paper;

a paper trimmer having a fixed, substantially planar paper supporting surface, infeed and outfeed sides, a front end offset from said infeed conveying means, and a knife extending along said front end out of the path of travel of untrimmed packages of paper onto the paper supporting surface, said knife being mounted for movement in a vertical plane;

side gage means having a lowerable portion positioned contiguous at least a portion of the outfeed side of said trimmer, said side gage means having an inwardly facing gage surface arranged to extend at right angles to both the plane of the supporting surface and the plane of the knife;

and means for lowering said side gage lowerable portion to permit a trimmed package of paper to be conveyed off the paper supporting surface of said trimmer.

25. The combination of claim 24, further including back gage means presenting a gage surface extending parallel to the cutting plane of the knife and arranged with respect to the paper supporting surface of said trimmer for movement towards and away from said knife, said back gage presenting a gage surface arranged at right angles to both the plane of the supporting surface and the plane of said side gage.

26. In combination, in a straight line flow relation:

a paper trimmer having a paper supporting surface,

infeed and outfeed sides, a front end, and a knife extending along said front end and mounted for movement within a vertical plane;

infeed conveying means arranged to convey untrimmed packages of paper onto the infeed side of said paper trimmer;

side gage means having a lowerable portion positioned contiguous at least a portion of the outfeed side of said trimmer, said side gage means having an inwardly facing gage surface arranged to extend at right angles to both the plane of the supporting surface and the plane of the knife;

means for lowering said side gage lowerable portion to permit a trimmed package of paper to be removed from said paper trimmer over the top of said lowered side gage portion;

power driven roll means disposed outboard of said side gage;

drive mechanism connected to said power roll means and including an outfeed motor and overriding clutch means interposed between said outfeed motor and said power driven roll means, such overriding clutch means being constructed to allow free rotation of the power driven roll means in the outfeed direction when said outfeed motor is off, and to engage and drive said power driven roll means in the same direction when said outfeed motor is energized.

27. The combination of claim 26, wherein said power driven roll means comprises a pair of outfeed rolls, each of which has an overriding clutch means interposed between it and the outfeed motor.

28. The combination of claim 26, wherein the lowerable portion of said gage rail has elongated, vertically extending bushings structurally integrated to each of its ends, and a pair of horizontally spaced, vertically oriented shafts are mounted at their respective ends onto a frame portion of said paper trimmer, with said bushings mounting said gage rail for up and down movement along said shafts,

29. The combination of claim 28, wherein said gage rail is provided with means for synchronizing the extent of travel of its respective ends as it is raised and lowered.

30. In a paper handling and trimming mechanism having a trimmer table, a motor driven back gage, a motor driven movable side rail, motor driven infeed conveyor means for delivering a paper package to said trimmer table, and motor driven outfeed conveyor means for conveying a trimmer paper package from the trimmer table, the line of feed of an untrimmed paper package delivered by said infeed conveyor means and the line of feed of the trimmed paper package off the trimmer table and away from the trimmer table by action of said outfeed conveyor means being in a straight line pattern; electrical control circuitry comprising limit switch means rendering the infeed conveyor means operable only when the back gage is in its rearmost position with respect to said table so as to be out of the line of feed of the oncoming paper package, limit switch means energizing the side rail motor to move said side rail whenever the back gage is in its rearmost position, safety interlock means preventing energization of the back gage drive motor whenever the infeed conveyor drive motor is in an energized condition, an infeed sensing unit detecting the presence of an oncoming paper package substantially at the infeed side of the trimmer table and operating to automatically maintain the infeed conveyance of the oncoming paper package until the package is fully on the trimmer table, an outfeed sensing means functioning to energize the outfeed conveyor drive motor means upon initial off-movement of a trimmed paper package from the trimmer table and for maintaining such energization until the trimmed package is clear of the trimmer table, and interlock means disabling the back gage drive motor energization circuit whenever the outfeed motor circuit is energized by said outfeed sensing unit.

31. In paper trimmer control circuitry according to claim 30, manually actuatable switch means operable independently of the back gage position with respect to the trimmer table for lowering the side rail a predetermined time to facilitate rotative manipulation by the operator of the paper package on the trimmer table during the trimming operation.

32. A mechanism for trimming of paper packages, said mechanism comprising a trimmer table, a vertically moving cutting knife forwardly of said table, a forwardly and rearwardly movable back gage on said table, and a retractable side gage means at one side of said table, the said mechanism further comprising means operating to retract said side gage means in response to movement of said back gage into substantially its rearmost position.

33. A mechanism for trimming of paper packages, said mechanism comprising a trimmer table a vertically moving cutting knife forwardly of said table, a forwardly and rearwardly movable back gage on said table, and a lowerable side gage means at one side of said table, the said mechanism further comprising means operating to lower said side gage means in response to location of said back gage in substantially its rearmost position.

34. A mechanism for handling and trimming paper packages, said mechanism comprising a trimmer table, a vertically movable cutting knife forwardly of said table, a forwardly and rearwardly movable back gage on said table, a side gage at one side of said table and comprising a vertically movable rail which in its lowered position is substantially flush with said table, motor means for raising and lowering said movable rail, and control means actuating said motor means to lower said rail whenever said back gage is moved into substantially its rearmost position on said table.

35. A mechanism for the handling and trimming of paper packages, said mechanism comprising a trimmer table, a vertically movable cutting knife forwardly of said table, a forwardly and rearwardly movable back gage on said table, motor means for moving said back gage, a movable side rail, motor means for moving said side rail, and outfeed conveyor means adjacent to the side of the trimmer table occupied by said side rail for conveying a trimmed paper package away from the trimmer table, mo-

I8 tor means for driving said outfeed conveyor means, and an outfeed sensing unit situated to detect the presence of a trimmed package on a portion of said outfeed conveyor means and operating to energize the outfeed conveyor motor means upon the occasion of a trimmed package occupying said portion of the outfeed conveyor means.

36. A paper handling and trimming mechanism according to claim 35, further comprising means disabling said back gage motor means upon energization of the outfeed conveyor motor means.

37. Mechanism for handling and trimming paper packages, comprising:

a trimmer table;

a vertically movable cutting knife forwardly of said table;

a forwardly and rearwardly movable back gage on said table;

a retractable side rail at one side of said table;

a motor for retracting and restoring said movable rail;

a first control means for automatically operating said motor to retract said rail when said back gage is substantially in its rearmost position on said table;

and a manually actuatable, second control means for operating said motor to retract said rail independently of the position of said back gage on said table.

38. Paper handling and trimming mechanism according to claim 37, further comprising means automatically controlling said motor to restore said rail a predetermined time after a retraction thereof has occurred in response to actuation of said second control means.

39. Mechanism for trimming paper packages, comprising:

a timmer table;

a vertically movable cutting knife forwardly of said table;

a forwardly and rearwardly movable back gage on said table;

a vertically movable side rail at one side of said table;

a motor for raising and lowering said movable rail;

a first control means for automatically operating said motor to lower said rail when said back gage is substantially in its rearmost position on said table;

and a manually actuatable, second control means for operating said motor to lower said rail independently of the position of said back gage on said table.

40. Paper trimming mechanism according to claim 39, further comprising means automatically controlling said motor to raise said rail a predetermined time after a lowering thereof has occurred in response to actuation of said second control means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1933 Valiquette 83-4l8 10/1958 McCormick 83367 X 

1. A METHOD OF HANDLING AND TRIMMING A PACKAGE OF PAPER COMPRISING: CONVEYING A PACKAGE OF UNTRIMMED PAPER ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE PATH OF TRAVEL ONTO ONE SIDE OF A PAPER TRIMMER HAVING A KNIFE DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE LINE OF DELIVERY, AND A SIDE GAGE DISPOSED IN SAID PATH OF TRAVEL; TRIMMING SUCH PACKAGE USING A BACK GAGE WITH SUCH KNIFE TO OBTAIN PARALLEL CUTS AND THE SIDE GAGE WITH SUCH KNIFE FOR OBTAINING RIGHT ANGLE CUTS; RETRACTING THE SIDE GAGE OUT OF SAID PATH OF TRAVEL AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE TRIMMING OPERATION; AND THEN MOVING SAID TRIMMED PACKAGE ALONG SAID PATH OF TRAVEL TO CONVEY SAME PAST THE RETRACTED SIDE GAGE AND COMPLETELY OFF THE TIMMER. 